Bihar Students to Avail Loans at 1% Interest Rates Under SSC Scheme

Under the Students Credit Card (SSC) scheme, Girls, trans-genders and differently-abled students of Bihar, wishing to pursue higher education, can avail loans up to 4 lakh rupees, at only 1% interest rates. Other students will receive loans at 4% interest rates.

The Bihar State Education Finance Corporation (BSEFC) was inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar in Patna to boost the SSC scheme.

The corporation has been put in place to work towards the betterment and easy availability of education loans for students who have passed the 12th grade. It will act as a replacement for commercial banks which usually tend to provide loans to students opting for technical education.

The Chief Minister said that the main objective behind the SSC scheme was to increase the overall gross enrollment ratio (GER) of the state in higher education.

The GER of Bihar for post-intermediate students has moved up from 13.9% to 14.3% after the introduction of the SSC scheme while it stands at 24% at the national level. The government aims to reach GER levels of up to 30% in the upcoming years.